Destiny's 'Dream' haka raises critic's eyebrows

Barack Obama heard about them and Hollywood star Jamie Foxx tweeted of meeting them, but the author of a new book on the Destiny Church is not convinced its kapa haka group belonged at a massive civil rights commemoration in Washington DC this week.

The 12-strong group from the South Auckland church led by Brian Tamaki did a five-minute haka on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to mark the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King jnr's history-making "I Have a Dream" speech.

The group - invited by King's daughter Bernice - were photographed with Foxx, who later posted the picture on his Twitter page.

Tamaki re-posted it, tweeting "Hollywood nxt boys huh lol".

Less impressed was Massey University professor of history Peter Lineham, who published Destiny: The Life and Times of a Self-Made Apostle in July.

While he respected Bernice King's right to invite the group, he found their presence "paradoxical".

"The whole essence of Martin Luther King was as a civil rights campaigner. Destiny have certainly stood up for Maori rights. Today the whole civil rights thing is for gay rights and they haven't exactly stood up for that."